Journal 4: Religious fanatics can be so unreasonable sometimes
Having returned victorious from the dwarven temple, the party is met with an ongoing festival, isn't this a bit premature?
General Summary
Festival activities?
A little lost on what to do, the party wandered around the village square during Merinde Aindathiel, looking for some sort of magical items to pawn off or purchase, Rael and Nate were approached by a distressed looking priest, Brother Lowel. Salyn Humblechuckle told him that the Great Gazeeb was a hero of great renown that could obviously help him out. In their efforts to calm Lowel down, they took Lowel to Rael’s house. Once there, Lowel explained how his brothers in his clergy have drastically overstepped the bounds of She Who Weaves, the Raven Queen. Distressed, Lowel explained how his brothers were about to kill multiple kids because that is “what the Raven Queen desires”. After pleading for their help, the party decides to come help them, with Rael leaving early to fetch Nero. Nero, who is sleeping a drunken haze, tells him to fuck off but changes his attitude when Rael promises him all of his money. Before sundown, the party says their goodbyes in Bree and set off to the temple.
On their way to the temple, just after heading into the forest along the road, Rael sees a man rushing off in the distance. The party heads off quickly, thinking that one of the clergy saw them approach and went off to warn the others. Instead, Rael leaps forward and falls straight into a deep pit, an ambush set by Kraven. Quickly casting Featherfall, Nate saves Rael from certain injury as Rael flows down, light as a feather. Clearly desparate, this would become Kraven's last attempt to apprehend Nate as the party, having much more battle experience under their belts at this point, quickly disposes of the ambushers. Brother Lowel, having rushed off into the bushes, returns sheepish and apologizes for his combat inexperience. The party dumps the bodies of their assailants in the very pit that was set to amubhs them. The party continues on toward the temple.
The Weaver's temple
At the temple, the party scouts the area. Apparently, the Raven Queen's temple is built near a graveyard. Behind the graveyard, at the small temple's door they see a guard in a cloak similar to Lowel's. Nate and Azeir approach the guard and ask him if he has seen their lost cousins, they ran off somewhere around here and need to be home before dinner. After a short and heated discussion, Nate quickly attacks the guard, Brother Cassius, but fails to subdue him. Cassius knocks on the door behind him, alerting his brothers inside, but shortly after Nate and Azeir finally manage to subdue him. They quickly hide him away behind the building with Nate taking his place at the door, using his Disguise Self ability. Brother Troy opens the door from the inside, clear annoyance on his face. Nate tells him that everything is alright and seems to stave off repercussions for the moment. After questioning Cassius to no clear effect, the party delibirates on what to do next. Fed up with their inability to come up with a clear plan, they barge through the door to find Brother Castor, the clergy's leader, in the middle of some sort of ritual. Two kids (Aes and Byr) lie right before an altar as well as a small elven girl.
The party engages Castor in conversation. But quickly it becomes clear that Castor is only interesed in getting them to either join or leave. Staving off control over his mind, Nero attacks Castor as Nate is rushed by two of the clergy. Castor sighs at the foolishness of the invaders, the one's onworthy in the eyes of the Weaver. Disappointed, he instructs the others to kill the newcomers except for Rael. After only 15 seconds, brother Castor goes down and “the Raven Queen” appears in the room, she proclaims in a soft spoken voice that Castor is to be picked back up and charms Nero, commanding him to join her side. In a reckless fury Nero attacks his teammates, but luck was on their side that day, because every attack goes wide. "The Raven Queen” retreats back to her domain and somehow the party is able to snap Nero back out of his delusions and to clear out the room. After looting the place, Nero and Lowel bury the bodies of the brothers. Rael goes to check on Brother Cassius, to see what to do with him now. After a short but emotional discussion, in which it becomes clear to both of them the extent to how far gone Brother Cassius is, Rael decides to relieve Cassius from his suffering. He takes him back to the small mass-grave the party utilized further down the road, dumps the body in and closes the hole. After retrieving the kart and barrow belonging to the Rockwoods and the elven girl, reuniting the Rockwoods (the three boys in the temple as well as their father), the party settles the score with Lowel. Everybody decides to return to Bree (including Brother Lowel, who intends to rebuild this temple, but has no more supplies, rations or brothers here, and will return later).
Long live our four three heroes
Back in Bree, Nero immediately heads off to the tavern to take his rest. The rest of the party says their goodbyes, thanks and welcomes to their 5 companions who they rescued and brought back to Bree. The rest of the village is still celebrating the feast that started at dusk that day. Mardak gives a speech to introduce and congratulate the 3 (with Nero missing) young men who rescued this village. After a final Huzzah, the party enjoys the festivities of the night and take their first moment of rest in a little while.
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